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Friday, September 28, 2012

Happy Steel Day!

Today, people across the country celebrate the wonderful
building material that is steel. Why do we care about that here at this blog?
Well, if it weren’t for steel, there might not be a Section 36.

After all, Section 36 is located in everyone’s favorite
steel structure, Fenway Park. Steel really helped make Fenway what it is today.

How?

Thanks to steel, spans between supports are shorter than
they would have been. That means fewer obstructed views. Can you imagine Fenway
with even more obstructed views? Would it have lasted 100 years if that were
the case? I doubt it.

Some of that advantage you can see when you look at the
steel trusses supporting the stadium. It’s easy to imagine that wooden planks
would not have been able to span quite so far between columns. But, there’s
even steel hidden in the concrete. The steel reinforced concrete also helps
increase the spans between supports. That was a pretty new concept in concrete
when Fenway was built. They were using concrete when the Egyptians built the
pyramids. But, adding steel reinforcing was a concept only decades old when
Fenway was built. It was a lucky break that the technology was used in the
park, helping it to survive.

It was also pretty important back in the day that steel and
concrete was much more fireproof than wooden bleachers. Fires that wiped out
wooden seating would leave the steel and concrete alone for us to use today.

Without the wonder of steel, Fenway Park would be a much
different place, if it were even a place at all.

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About Me

As a Red Sox fan, I've been to many games at Fenway Park. I've sat in the first row along third base, and the last row in right field. I've sat in roof boxes, field boxes, and the right field grandstand. The best seats of them all, however, are Section 36. Dead center field. You can see the field, enjoy the Sun, and have the time of your life.